Friday, August 31, 2012

الخاطف والمخطوف والاعلام بينهما

بقلم ضحى شمس(جدار الصوت) - الخميس, 08/16/2012 - 15:00

أبشع ما يمكن لصحفي أن يقوم به هو القبول باستجواب إنسان مخطوف، محتجزة حريته ومهدد بوجود خاطفيه، كما لو كان حراً. والأنكى؟ أن يكون الاستجواب مناسبة ليردد المخطوف أمام العدسات، ما أجبره خاطفه، الموجود الى جانبه، على التصريح به إثباتاً لحق الخاطف .. بخطفه!

اما الأبشع؟ فهو أن تتبارى مراسلتان، واحدة تابعة لقناة "الجديد" والثانية تابعة لقناة "ال بي سي"، على استجواب المخطوف إياه، وكأنه أصلاً كان حراً في الموافقة على الظهور على شاشتيهما حتى يكون حراً في قول ما قاله لملايين المشاهدين.
ماذ كان في المشهد؟ كانت الكاميرا "مفوكسة" على وجه المخطوف "النقيب في الجيش السوري الحر محمد" والذي اختطفه "الجناح العسكري لأل المقداد" ردا على خطف الجيش السوري الحر لأبنهم حسان المقداد وظهوره "مفجماً" من التعذيب "معترفاً" بانه مرسل من "حزب الله لدعم نظام بشار الشيعي". وأمام وجه النقيب تزاحم ميكروفونا "ال بي سي" و"الجديد" للاقتراب من فمه حيث "نبع الحقيقة". وليكتمل المشهد، كان صوت الخاطف يسمع عالياُ وهو يحثه، بالشتائم، على "الٌإقرار" بما سبق أن "أعترف" به.
على ماذا كانت المراسلتان تتباريان؟ على طرح الاسئلة بوتيرة سريعة لدرجة تحرم الأخرى فسحة كافية من الوقت "تتسلل" منها لطرح اسئلتها!
وللمفارقة، وبما أننا لم نكن نرى أياً من المراسلتين، بل فقط الميكروفونين الحاملين لشعار المحطتين امام وجه المخطوف المدمّى من الضرب، فإننا بالتالي لم نكن نعلم أيهما كانت تطرح السؤال لنعرف من سبق من؟ حتى لما أردت بشدة أن أعرف من منهما طرحت ذلك السؤال العبقري وهو" هل انت مضغوط عليك لقول هذا؟" اي قوله بانه نقيب في الجيش الحر، لم استطع للأسف. كان عليكم رؤية تعبير وجهه وهو يهمس بصوت لا يكاد يسمع أن أحداً "والله" لم يضغط عليه! لم يكن ينقص إلا سؤاله إن كان مخطوفاً!
ما الفارق بين مشهد رهينة تقرأ بيان الخاطفين، وقد وقف هؤلاء خلفها مسلحين وملثمين، وبين مراسلة تقابل مخطوفاً يقف خاطفوه مسلحين بجانبه، وقد بدت آثار "الاعتراف" بإنه "مذنب" على وجهه؟ ما الفارق بين الخاطف و"الاعلام" في هذه الحالة؟ أجزم أن فيديو الرهائن التقليدي أفضل أخلاقياً ألف مرة من هذه المقابلة المذلة أنسانياً ومهنياً.
وان كانت المراسلتين المذكورتين أعلاه "تهن" بالمعنى المهني، وقبلتا بتلك المقابلة، كيف تقبل القناة، وفيها محترفون (بالمبدأ) بثها إن لم يكن الغرض، فقط، طمأنة أهله الى أنه لا يزال حياً؟ لا أفهم.
بدت التلفزيونات في فترات من سباق الهواء المفتوح أمس، خاصة بعد اشتداد الشائعات (التي ساهمت هي بنشرها)، مجردة من أي حسابات غير حسابات المنافسة. كأنه "لا وقت للتفكير" وبالتالي لا وقت للأخلاق، فالموضوع جلل: من يسبق من؟ أما على ماذا؟ لم يبد الجواب للمتابعين هاما.
هذه صورة بسيطة من يوم البث الهستيري الطويل، الذي بدا واضحا أنه كان حلقة حامية من حلقات حرب "الأجهزة" المتصارعة على الساحة الاقليمية، والتي لم تتوقف أمس عن استخدام مختلف وسائل الاتصال لضخ إشاعات وإشاعات مضادة، بما فيها الرسائل النصية والتسريبات غير المأمونة، لمجرد بث الفوضى. صورة ربما لم تستغرق أكثر من دقيقتين من يوم كامل، اختلطت فيه التراجيديا المبكية بالكوميديا السوداء التي تفوقت بسورياليتها على أكثر مشاهد مسرحية "لولا فسحة الامل" و"نزل السرور" و"بخصوص الكرامة والشعب العنيد" (مع بعض) كاريكاتورية.
اما حصيلة اليوم فقد كانت مخيبة للآمال: وصل الاعلاميون لاهثين ومنهكين آخر النهار بدون ان يكون لديهم تقريباً أي خبر واضح عن حال المخطوفين ال11 في عزاز او مخطوف آل المقداد او ابن معروب لؤي محمد منصور المختفي منذ اسبوع. اما "ضيوف" آل المقداد، و"ضيوف" أهالي "ضيوف أبو ابراهيم"، فقد كانوا جميعاً مع خاطفيهم، وبرغم كل ما فعلوه كلهم، وفي سلة واحدة، ضحايا صراع دولي واقليمي لا ناقة لهم فيه ولا جمل، ولدولة، دخلت منذ سنوات في غيبوبة، لم يوقظها منها أمس الا خطف "الجناح العسكري لأل المقداد" مواطناَ.. تركياً.
لكنها كانت لحظات فقط، عادت بعدها لتغط في سباتها العميق ...على طاولة الحوار.

الإسلاميون والحريات المثقّفون العرب في عين العاصفة

من الأعمال التي انتشرت خلال الحراك النسائي ضد تعديل المادة المتعلقة بالمساواة في الدستور التونسي

من تونس إلى مصر، يواجه الفنانون والصحافيون كل يوم تيارات التكفير والشعبوية الدينية. اعتداءات بالجملة، واستدعاءات إلى المحاكم، وتقويض ممنهج لأسس الدولة المدنية. في هذا الملفّ نقدّم شهادات وآراء كتّاب وباحثين ومبدعين يطرحون نظرتهم إلى الواقع ورؤياهم من أجل المواجهة

عثمان تزغارت

تونس | يواجه الفنانون والمثقفون ورجال الإعلام في تونس حملات غير مسبوقة من المضايقات والاعتداءات. لم تنتظر هذه الهجمات وصول حركة «النهضة» الإسلامية إلى الحكم، بل بدأت محاولات أبلسة المثقفين باكراً. لم يكد يمر شهران على قيام الثورة، حتى تفجرت المواجهات بين النخب الثقافية و«قوى الظلام» من الهجوم السلفي على قاعة «أفريكا آرت» احتجاجاً على عرض فيلم «لا الله ولا سيدي» لنادية الفاني، إلى الاعتداء على السينمائي الطليعي النوري بوزيد على أيدي شباب «النهضة»، وإطلاق بعضهم نداءات علنية إلى تصفية صاحب «صفائح الذهب» (راجع شهادته).

ولا يكاد يمر أسبوع من دون أن تضجّ وسائل الإعلام باعتداء أو هجوم جديد على مثقفين وإعلاميين مناوئين للإسلاميين، إذ طاولت الاعتداءات عشرات الفنانين والكتاب والإعلاميين والجامعيين. وتحولت شبكات التواصل الاجتماعي التي لعبت دوراً لافتاً في إطاحة ديكتاتور قرطاج إلى ساحة للتكفير والتخوين.
الحبيب بلهادي، رفيق درب الفاضل الجعايبي وجليلة بكار في فرقة «فاميليا» المسرحية، ومدير قاعة «أفريكا آرت»، كان طرفاً في أول مواجهة ضد قوى «الردة الثقافية» في موطن الشابي. ما زالت هذه القاعة الثقافية المرموقة مغلقة بحجج بيروقراطية منذ الهجمة السلفية التي استهدفتها في نيسان (أبريل) من العام الماضي. يقول: «ما حدث من تجاذبات وهجمات على الثقافة والمثقفين خلال الحملة الانتخابية الأخيرة، وما تشهده تونس منذ تولي السلطة الحالية من تضييقات على الإعلاميين واعتداءات على الفنانين والمثقفين، لم تأت من فراغ. بل كانت نتاج خطة مبيتة سعى الإسلاميون من خلالها، وعلى مدى أشهر، إلى جعل المطالبة بالحريات مرادفاً للكُفر في أذهان أنصارهم. وهذا يفرض علينا اليوم كمثقفين أن نسهم في بلورة ثقافة مقاومة من أجل الصمود في وجه تيارات التكفير والشعبوية الدينية، والتصدي لكلّ ما يشكل مساساً بالحريات أو تهديداً للمكتسبات الديموقراطية في البلاد». ويضيف أنّ «أحداً لن يثنينا عن الاستماتة في دفاعنا عن الحريات. لم ينجح في ذلك بورقيبة ولا بن علي سابقاً. ولن ينجح اليوم الغنوشي ومن معه».
كلام يصدّق عليه السينمائي النوري بوزيد، قائلاً إنّ «تركيبة السلطة الحالية تثير فيَّ الكثير من الخوف. لا أخاف على نفسي من التهديدات، فأنا مستعد للموت من أجل أفكاري، بل أخاف على مستقبل بلادي وأبناء بلادي. التضييقات الحالية لا تستهدف المثقفين فقط، ولا تهدّد الحريات فحسب، بل هي أخطر من ذلك. إنّها تشكّل تهديداً لتوازنات المجتمع بأكمله. وهي توزانات تشكّلت على مدى عقود، وإذا حصل الإخلال بها، فإنّ ذلك يهدّد بتقويض لحمة المجتمع التونسي. لذا، على كل القوى التقدمية أن تتصدى لهذا الخطر الداهم. ويجب أن نجعل أولويتنا الدفاع عن دعائم الدولة المدنية. من دونها لا يمكن أن يكون هناك أي فضاء للحرية أو التعددية أو الديموقراطية».
أما عن أسباب ضمور دور النخب الثقافية في تونس ما بعد الثورة، فيقول المسرحي توفيق الجبالي: «الأحداث المتتابعة منذ الثورة كشفت لنا أنّنا كنخب ثقافية وفنية، كان لدينا تصور افتراضي وخاطئ لمجتمعنا. نحن الآن نكتشف كل يوم شيئاً جديداً عن هذا المجتمع. هذا الأمر لا يجب أن يدفعنا إلى إعادة النظر في قناعاتنا وآليات تفكيرنا، لكنّه يتطلّب منّا مراجعة جذرية لآليات عملنا وأساليب تواصلنا مع مجتمعنا. ولعل هذه الهزة هي التي تفسِّر الكثير من الفراغ والاكتئاب حتى لا نقول اليأس الذي تعاني منه بعض نخبنا». ويضيف صاحب «هنا تونس»: «هناك اليوم مشروعان مجتمعيان في بلادنا، أحدهما حداثي والآخر أصولي. وداخل كل واحد من هذين المشروعين، هناك الكثير من التخبط وعدم التجانس في الرؤى والأفكار. وهذا نابع من كوننا نخوض تجربة جديدة، ونواجه واقعاً مغايراً بعد التحولات الجذرية التي جاءت بها الثورة. وهذا الوضع المستجد جعلني شخصياً أعيش مرحلة تأمل أسعى خلالها إلى قراءة وفهم هذا الواقع الجديد. ولا أعتبر نفسي عنصراً فاعلاً في الأحداث رغم أنّي كنت أول من قدّم عملاً مسرحياً بعد الثورة أثار مواضيع الديموقراطية والانتخابات وحق المواطنة وحرية القرار. لكنّني لا أؤيد انخراط النخب الفنية والثقافية حالياً بشكل مباشر في العمل السياسي، لأنني أعتقد أنّ دورنا ليس صناعة الحدث، بل إعادة صياغة الواقع من موقع نقدي. لكن هذه المسافة النقدية لا تمنعنا، بالطبع، من تثمين ومساندة كل القوى التقدمية والحداثية».
أما الإعلامي عبد الحليم المسعودي، الذي طالته حملات التكفير بسبب برنامجه الثقافي الجريء «مغربنا في التنوير والتحرير» الذي يقدمه على قناة «نسمة»، فيقول إنّ «المضايقات والقمع والرقابة التي فُرضت على المثقفين قبل الثورة جعلتهم يبتكرون واقعاً متخيلاً لا يتطابق مع حقيقة الواقع المعاش. وعلى المثقف اليوم أن يتخلى عن النرجسية والنخبوية، وأن ينزل إلى المعمعة مثله مثل أي مناضل أو مواطن معني بدعم الحركات المطلبية التي تدافع عن الحريات والتعددية. من واجب المثقفين أن ينخرطوا في الحراك المجتمعي والسياسي، حتى لا يفسحوا المجال لأعداء الحرية كي يستغلوا أجواء الحريات التي تمخضت عنها الثورات الشعبية، لتسميم الربيع الديموقراطي برؤى شعبوية من شأنها أن تؤسس لأشكال جديدة من التسلط».
امتداداً لهذا التصور، يقول الحبيب بلهادي: «انخراط المثقفين في العمل السياسي يجب أن يأخذ الآن أبعاداً متعددة. هناك النضالات الحزبية والنقابية والمجتمعية التي كانت للنخب الثقافية التقدمية على الدوام أدوار طليعية فيها. وهناك أيضاً تحديات جديدة في مجال التنمية الثقافية التي يجب أن تضطلع بها النخب الثقافية. بعدما أسقطت الثورة المضايقات التي كانت مفروضة علينا في السابق من النظام الديكتاتوري، يجب علينا اليوم أن نوصل الثقافة الى كل فئات الشعب، وخصوصاً الفئات المحرومة في المناطق النائية التي كانت سماد الثورة الشعبية. يجب أن نناضل لكي يكون للمواطن البسيط في سيدي بوزيد أو قفصة أو غيرهما من مناطق الداخل المهشمة دور ثقافة ومسارح وصالات سينما. هذا المسعى لن يسهم فقط في دمقرطة العمل الثقافي، بل سيكون أداة تنموية تخدم أهداف التشغيل وتسهم في محو الفوارق بين المدن الكبرى والأرياف، وفك العزلة عن المناطق التي كانت منسية ومهمشة في ظل النظام السابق. كما أنّ هذا المسعى سيلعب دوراً بالغ الأهمية في بناء جسور التواصل والتكامل بين الثقافة والتربية. فالتصدي للمد الأصولي والشعبوي لا يتأتى فقط من النضال السياسي أو المطلبي المباشر الذي لا ينبغي إغفاله أو الانتقاص من أهميته، بالطبع، وخصوصاً في مرحلة مفصلية مثل التي نشهدها، لكنه يجب أن يندرج أيضاً ضمن معركة معرفية وتوعوية طويلة الأمد».
النوري بوزيد له رأي مغاير وأقل تفاؤلاً في ما يتعلق بدور المثقفين. يقول: «لا يجب أن نتحدث عن نخب ثقافية في المطلق، كما لو كانت النخب نسيجاً متجانساً. الانتخابات الأخيرة تمخضت عن خيانة قطاع هام من النخب السياسية اليسارية والعلمانية لمبادئها، من أجل حسابات سياسية ضيقة دفعت بها إلى التحالف مع «النهضة». لو أنّ تلك النخب تحالفت مع باقي قوى اليسار، لأصبحت «النهضة» أقلية في المجلس التأسيسي. لكن الشعبوية دفعتها إلى التحالف مع الإسلاميين، متوهمة أنها بذلك تقترب من الشعب». إلا أن صاحب «ريح السد» يعود ويستدرك، قائلاً: «أنا من أوائل من نادوا بأن تنخرط القوى التقدمية في الحراك الشعبي، لكن الاقتراب من الشعب لا يجب أن يكون على حساب القيم والمبادئ التي نناضل من أجلها، التي تتمثل في الدفاع عن حريات التعبير والرأي والمعتقد، وعن قيم المواطنة والمساواة والعلمانية».
يوافق توفيق الجبالي هذا الرأي، ويضيف: «نحن كفنانين ونخب ثقافية، يجب أن نقف دوماً على الضفة المقابلة للسلطة، أياً كانت هذه السلطة. يجب أن يكون دورنا مرتكزاً باستمرار على الدفاع عن الحريات والديموقراطية والحق في الاختلاف. أما السؤال: إلى أي مدى يستطيع الإبداع الفني والثقافي أن يكون مؤثراً في المجتمع؟ فهو سؤال إشكالي مطروح حتى على الدول المتقدمة ذات الخبرة الأطول والتجربة الأعمق في هذا المجال». ويتابع: «نحن اليوم ندافع عن وجودنا كفنانين ومثقفين، كما فعلنا دائماً خلال مختلف الفترات والحقب، الصعبة أو الأقل صعوبة التي مررنا بها. نحن منسجمون مع أنفسنا، وندافع اليوم عن الحريات، مثلما دافعنا عنها سابقاً حين تصدينا للتسلط والديكتاتورية قبل الثورة. ولعل هذا المنطلق المبدئي هو الذي جعل حماستنا للثورة قصيرة الأمد، إذ وجب علينا بسرعة أن نأخذ مسافة نقدية عن الأحداث، لنحاول فهم واستيعاب المستجدات والتأقلم معها».
أما عن خصوصية الدور المنوط بالنخب الثقافية في ظل الأنظمة والحكومات ذات التوجه الإسلامي التي أفرزتها ثورات «الربيع العربي»، فيقول الصحافي والكاتب عبد الحليم المسعودي: «من حيث المبدأ، يُفترض بعمل المثقف أن يبقى ذاته، قبل الثورة أو بعدها، لأنّه عمل بعيد المدى يراهن على التراكم. لكن المرحلة الحالية لها خصوصيتها، فهي تقتضي من المثقفين مزيداً من التيقظ والحذر، لأنّ التهديدات التي تحدق بالحريات تملي عليهم واجب التفاعل مع كل القوى الحيّة في المجتمع من أجل الدفاع عن هذه الحريات». ويضيف: «بلداننا تحتاج اليوم إلى المثقف العضوي القادر على التفاعل مع الواقع الجديد، والانخراط في الحركات المطلبية التي تدافع عن التعدد والحرية والتسامح. وهذا لا يتحقق إلا إذا استطاعت النخب الثقافية أن تعيد النظر جذرياً في آليات تفكيرها وعملها، وتخرج من عزلتها، ومن الواقع الافتراضي الذي تعيشه، ونظرتها المتخيلة إلى المجتمع التي أفرزتها عهود التسلط السابقة التي حاصرت المثقفين وهمّشتهم، وحدّت كثيراً من قدرتهم على التفاعل مع مجتمعاتهم وناسهم. إذ كيف يمكن أن يكون للمثقف صوت مسموع ودور مؤثر، إذا لم يستمع إلى هموم شعبه، ولم يفهم كيف يفكر هذا الشعب وما هي انشغالاته؟».
ويذهب الحبيب بلهادي أبعد منذ ذلك، قائلاً: «على النخب الثقافية أن تعمل على نشر القيم الديموقراطية وترسيخها في الوعي الجماعي. وذلك لا يتأتى سوى من خلال نهضة فكرية ومواطنية شاملة. على المثقفين أن ينزلوا إلى المعمعة، وألا يستسلموا لمحاولات التهميش والإقصاء التي تريد أن تلغي أي دور مؤثر للنخب الثقافية من المشهد السياسي والاجتماعي. هذا النوع من الاقصاء الذي يطاول المثقفين لا يشكل خطراً على حرية التعبير والإبداع والفكر فحسب، بل أيضاً على مستقبل الديموقراطية في البلاد. محاولات إقصاء المثقفين وأبلستهم تندرج ضمن منحى شعبوي يهدّد بتقويض مبادئ التحرر والكرامة التي قامت عليها الثورات الشعبية العربية. وهذا الأمر يفضي إلى ولادة أشكال جديدة من التسلط والفاشية السياسية والفكرية».

Identity crisis an obstacle to national unity

Standard Digital News
KENYA

Special Reports

Last Updated:
9 hrs 2 mins ago

Identity crisis an obstacle to national unity

Updated 8 hrs 6 mins ago

Perennial tribal skirmishes in North Eastern Kenya and the Coast are as predictable as they are devastating.
Experts are warning that unless the Government takes proactive steps to institute national dialogue and reconciliation, large-scale violence could soon explode. According to Mr Jeremiah Owiti of the Institute for Independent Research in Nairobi, the authorities and stakeholders need to understand the nature, history and attitudes of the communities involved.
“The conflicts in Northern Kenya and Coast are based on historical injustices hinged on systemic State neglect which originated but did not end with the colonial legacy,” says Owiti.

In just two weeks, more than 60 people were killed in Tana River, Wajir and Mandera in conflicts over land, pasture, and water. But the gruesomeness of the killings and the efficient manner of execution left a bitter taste among Kenyans as it echoed the bloodbath of the post-election violence.
Owiti explains that communities in North Eastern are a bitter lot because they have been left out of the national system and that conflicts pitting such communities against each other are often resource based.
Kenya’s colonial government enacted several laws specifically targeting the north. The Outlying District Ordinance of 1902 effectively declared the Northern Frontier District (NFD) made up of Wajir, Mandera, Ijara, Garissa, Isiolo, Moyale and Marsabit a restricted area, where movement was only possible under a special pass.
The Special Districts (Administration) Ordinance of 1934, together with the Stock Theft and Produce Ordinance of 1933 gave the colonial administrators extensive powers of arrest, restraint, detention and seizure of properties of ‘hostile tribes’. The latter legalised collective punishment of tribes and clans for the offences of their members. These ordinances applied also to present-day Tana River, Lamu, Kajiado, and Samburu districts.
Exclusionist agenda
The net effect of the colonial legislation was to turn NFD into a closed zone that had no contact or relation with other parts of the country. Indeed, other Kenyans knew little about NFD. This situation continued after independence and is best captured by American writer, Negley Farson in Last Chance in Africa: ‘There is one half of Kenya about which the other half knows nothing and seems to care even less about.’
“The colonial authorities designed and perpetrated an exclusionist agenda against the northern communities who were perceived to be insignificant – even rebellious and hostile. This stereotyping of a community lingered on in independent Kenya resulting in people from the North having fewer opportunities in national development including in education and job opportunities,” observes Owiti, who is credited with developing the UNDP referendum project in South Sudan.
“Today people from the north do not feel part of Kenya hence the common phrase ‘we have just come from Kenya’ by north eastern residents after a visit to Nairobi. The tragedy is there has been inculcate defiance among such communities that they are ready to take up arms to defend their territories against their neighbours,” he says. But the problems afflicting parts of Coast Province, he notes, are also informed by historical injustices revolving around land ownership but political undertones have exacerbated the situation leading to inter-ethnic conflicts.
He is, however, optimistic that the underlying issues to the conflicts can be addressed through the Constitution and Agenda 4 of the National Accord, which is was designed to restore peace. “We have a very proactive Constitution that would address historical and emerging issues affecting these communities. There is no need for us to re-invent the wheel now but enact the legislation and establish institutions that would lead to equitable and peaceful Kenya,” he says.
Dr Elias Mokua of Jesuit Hakimani Centre says causes of the recurrent clashes are known we lack national identity.
“Kenya is a fragmented society. We identify more with clusters whether on tribes or regions. The scenario is quite different in Tanzania where a person is a Tanzanian first before tribe,” he observes. “It is not so much on policy, not so much on law but we need programmes that identify us as Kenyans regardless of where we come from. Studies show that 93 per cent of Kenyans need reconciliation. Somehow, there is something in our hearts that say we need to heal,” he adds.

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Standard Digital News

Men should sit down to urinate

Updated Monday, August 27 2012 at 18:38 GMT+3

A Taiwanese minister has caused widespread debate on hygiene by suggesting that men should sit down while urinating instead of standing up.
Stephen Shen, Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) minister, said that sitting on the toilet like women do creates a cleaner environment.
This has generated a lot of online debate, says the BBC's Cindy Sui.

Officials are to ask local governments this week to put up notices in public places advising men to sit.
While many women in social media websites favour the suggestion, a lot of men say it would be hard to stop doing what they are used to, our correspondent in Taipei adds.
But EPA officials insist that it can be done.
"We want to learn from Japan and Sweden," said Yuan Shaw-jing, EPA director general of environmental santitation and toxic substance maintenance.
"In Japan, we heard 30% of the men sit," he added.
Inspectors regularly grade Taiwan's estimated 100,000 public toilets, with most of receiving high marks. But EPA officials say there is room for improvement, as some toilets are still smelly because of urine spatter.
While the agency said that it cannot force men to change their habits, it will ask local governments this week to put notices in public toilets with the suggestion.
As for Mr Shen, the EPA confirmed that he himself practices what he suggests - at home and while using public toilets.
-BBC

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Kibaki calls for firm action on people inciting violence

STANDARD DIGITAL NEWS

Kenya

Kibaki calls for firm action on people inciting violence

By PPS
President Kibaki has directed police to deal firmly with anybody found inciting the public to violence as the country prepares for the General Election.
The President told police to be on high alert and also ensure that individuals found engaging in criminal activities face the full force of the law irrespective of their status in society.

The President also impressed on the police force to work closely with the public in the fight against election related offences. He urged Kenyans to shun negative ethnicity and co-exist harmoniously with their neighbours.
He was speaking during the pass-out parade for 3,900 Administration Police recruits who have completed a 15-month training at the Administration Police Training College in Embakasi.
Saying Kenya was greater than any individual, the Head of State called on the security agencies to forestall inter-communal conflicts that may lead to violence.
He said the Government, with the support of the public, has the ability to tackle the numerous security challenges faced by the country both from within and outside.
Besides police welfare, the Head of State stated that a wide range of reform initiatives are being undertaken to transform the security organs into professional, accountable and well-resourced agencies that can deliver on their mandate.
He said key police legislations have been finalised and are being rolled out to provide a strong legal framework that will entrench professionalism, police accountability and strong community-police partnership in the country.
The President called for fast tracking of the remaining reform activities to ensure the objectives of the ongoing reforms are realised.
He particularly challenged Internal Security Ministry to operationalise all the relevant provisions of the Constitution and security sector-related legislations.

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As we preach peace let’s also build an environment that supports it

STANDARD DIGITAL

Barrack Muluka

Columns As we preach peace let’s also build an environment that supports it

By Barrack Muluka
We have just had a national conference on peaceful elections, in Nairobi this week. One leader after the other exhorted Kenyans to be peaceful as the elections season sets in, in earnest. This follows hot on the heels of nationwide peace meetings in every county.
Elsewhere in Mombasa, President Kibaki, while opening this year’s ASK Mombasa Show, made a passionate plea for peace and national cohesion and tolerance. Meanwhile parts of northern Kenya and the coast have been theatres of senseless mass murder and mayhem, these past few days.? ?

We are set to hear more peace pleas in the days ahead. Our faith in our natural goodness has been thoroughly shaken, ever since we messed up our country after the 2007 elections. Time and tide wait for nobody, we are told. Five years are up. It is election season again. As they say, once bitten, twice shy. We fear a repeat of 2008. We shall therefore move from post to pillar and from pillar to post, praying and pleading for peace. This is a good thing.
But that is just about as far as it goes. This is especially so in Kenya. For many years, we took a near arrogant attitude about peace. We pilloried our neighbours as jungle dwellers and flattered ourselves with the belief that we were “an island of peace in an African sea of turbulence”.
?In truth, we lived a lie. We muffled grievance and masked injustice. That was what Justice Johann Kriegler of South Africa told us, after doing an autopsy of the violence that overwhelmed us in 2008. We continue to coat many unresolved historical tensions in the sugar of political convenience. The bungled elections were therefore only a ripe moment for the caving in of our peace, after a long ailment, falsely borne. ??
Another election is around the corner and panic seems to be overtaking us. That is why we must preach peace. But even as we preach peace, we need to do a lot more. For peace is not created by petitions and exhortations. Those who seek viable peace create environments and circumstances in which peace can thrive. Breakdown in peace often travels hand in glove with feelings of injustice, regardless that they are real or otherwise.
Grievance and relative deprivation theorists advise those in charge of state institutions to imbue citizens with confidence in the institutions. This is the best petition for peace. When it comes to elections, all institutions involved with the electoral process must consciously win back our confidence after the 2007 experience. The Judiciary, the media, the provincial administration and above all the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, must give Kenyans a sense of fairness and justice.
We must not be afraid to ask questions. How much sense of justice do we give our people with if we appoint officers called County Commissioners and insist they remain in office, even after the courts, the Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs and the Attorney General have told us that what we have done is illegal? /do we cause a section of the populace to suspect sinister motives?
D
o we compromise prospects for peaceful elections when we do so? How much cohesion does a media house that makes it its exclusive stock in trade to strategically target particular election candidates for incessant verbal assault and hostile propaganda? How supportive of peace are vernacular FM stations that preach the gospel of “our tribesman for President” the whole day and night long, world without end?
How well are we preparing for peaceful elections when some State officials resist police reforms to the extent that you end up with a Commissioner of Police who is now illegally in office? How well are we doing when we target a reformist Judiciary for disparagement; when we ridicule judges with tags like “activists”?
How well are we doing when election campaigns often sound like competitions in hate campaign? Candidates don’t talk about what they could do for Kenya. They rather move from one corner of the country to the other peddling hate from one end of the mouth and from the other end talk about “uniting” Kenyans. The question is, “unite” them in what? In hate?

For their part, media pick up these localised sessions of hate and carry them into our living rooms and to our bedrooms. Then there is a rabid social media that has gone viral with ethnic based hate campaigns. It is raw, brutal, and shameless, stoking the ugly fires of tomorrow.
In the volume, Gender and Genocide in Burundi, Patricia O Daley reminds us of the late Prof Cheikh Anta Diop’s insight into the architecture of societies that will roast in their own fuel. She says, for example, that such societies have “genocidal institutions: These include those institutions that are organised for incitement. In particular media, especially hate radio. Church and religious institutions are also organised for promulgation of genocide.”
The environment is suffocated with politics of exclusivism, racism, and ethnicity. “Opponents are characterised as vermin. People define themselves into racial and ethnic categories for purposes of social and political control.” Critically, we are reminded that there emerges “a kind of thinking that devalues the lives of other human beings on the basis of their ethnicity or race. For example if a car knocks down a person in the street, the driver will come out and say, ‘Oh, it is only a Hutu.’”

While we do well to preach peace, we will do better still to begin building an environment that supports peace. It is not too late. We could still wake up and begin interrogating ourselves – each one of us. We can ship some people to The Hague and blame them for the 2008 mayhem. We could railroad the entire political top brass to Siberia. But we solve nothing. Eventually, we must come to terms with our past, accept it, ask for forgiveness, correct old mistakes, compensate victims, be forgiven and move into the future. Then we shall find peace.

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Kenyan clerics condemn violence in Mombasa, urge public to remain calm

By Bosire Boniface in Wajir

August 29, 2012

Kenyan police said Wednesday morning (August 29th) that calm had been restored in Mombasa after the killing of Islamist cleric Aboud Rogo Mohammed on Monday sparked violent protests in the port city.

The first day of riots in Kenya following the killing of Islamist cleric Aboud Rogo Mohammed. [AFP] Play Video

Riots sparked by the killing of Islamist cleric Aboud Rogo Mohammed rocked the city of Mombasa for two days, leaving a number of Kenyan policeman dead and wounded when protestors threw a grenade at a police truck on August 28th. Several churches in the city were also burned. [AFP] Play Video

Protestors burn tyres in Mombasa after the killing of an Islamist cleric linked to al-Qaeda-allied al-Shabaab. [Bosire Boniface/Sabahi]

For two days, protestors vandalised churches, torched vehicles and demonstrated in the streets. One civilian was hacked to death on Monday while three police officers were killed and a dozen were injured when protestors threw a grenade a police truck on Tuesday.
"We do not have any problems this morning.... Even public transport is back to normal business and shops have been opened," Coast Province Police Chief Aggrey Adoli said according to AFP. "We have made adequate deployment for street patrols to maintain peace."
Adoli told Sabahi that at least 14 civilians and 12 police officers were injured in the clashes. He said at least two journalists were among the injured as protesters turned their anger on reporters.
Police used tear gas and rubber bullets to contain the violence and restore calm to the city.
Adoli said 24 people had been arrested in connection with the protests. "Some people are taking advantage of the protest to loot, but we are conducting ourselves with restraint to restore normalcy," he told Sabahi.
The suspects were charged on Wednesday with unlawful assembly and riot, according to Senior Resident Magistrate Elvis Michieka. They denied the charges and will remain in detention until September 3rd when their application for bail will be determined.
Mohammed, who was popularly known as Rogo, was considered the "main ideological leader" of Kenya's al-Hijra group, also known as the Muslim Youth Centre, according to the United Nations, which considers the group a close ally of al-Shabaab in Kenya.
He was also on international sanctions lists for "engaging in acts that directly or indirectly threaten the peace, security or stability of Somalia", specifically for recruiting and fundraising for al-Shabaab.
Mohammed was driving with his family when gunmen opened fire on his vehicle at close range, witnesses said.

Kenyan government launches investigation into Rogo assassination

"The killing of Rogo is unacceptable to the government and I have instructed police to investigate the incident," Prime Minister Raila Odinga told reporters on Tuesday from his office in Nairobi. "As a government, we do not accept wanton murders."
Odinga flew to Mombasa on Wednesday and called on the nation to come together and stop the violence.
"We are not going to allow outside forces to incite Kenyans to create religious war," Odinga said according to AFP.
"We have many political enemies but we want to see coexistence among all the communities living in Mombasa," Odinga said after meeting with religious leaders in the majority Muslim town, which also has a significant Christian population.
Human Rights Watch called for an independent investigation into the killing and subsequent riots.
"The killing of Aboud Rogo is a serious crime that needs speedy, independent and impartial investigation," said Leslie Lefkow, deputy Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "In the meantime, police should continue to stick within the law in confronting the riots sparked by Rogo's death."
"So far the police appear to have exercised admirable restraint in confronting the insecurity in Mombasa," Lefkow said. "Now they need to use precision and intelligence to pursue the people who caused the violence, avoiding indiscriminate actions."

Muslim and Christian leaders condemn sectarian violence

Religious leaders condemned the killing of Rogo and the attacks on churches and businesses by youth protesting the assassination.
Abdulrahman Wandati, executive director of the Muslim Consultative Council, said the protesters are misplacing their anger on churches and other institutions.
"No bona fide Muslim leadership would condone attacks on places of worship and threatening and harming other people. Why the protesters are targeting churches is beyond anyone's comprehension," he told Sabahi.
He said the government should come up with strategies to include clerics in appealing to the protesters as it investigates the killing.
Sheikh Juma Ngao, chairman of the Kenya Muslims National Advisory Council, told Sabahi that attacks on churches is a sacrilege and against the teaching of Islam.
"The Qu'ran clearly forbids attacking churches, synagogues and other places of worship for whatever grievances," he said. "It is haram [forbidden], and if someone wants to do [such acts], those who are near them should stop them."
"Those using Rogo's death to steal and attack churches cannot claim to be Muslims. They are criminals and should be arrested," he said.
"Violent protests over someone who has died will not bring him back and we appeal to the protesters to let the government continue with the investigations," Ngao said.
He said the government should arrest people who want to incite sectarian violence. The government should also make public its findings on who committed the grenade attacks on churches and other public places over the past eight months, he said.
Christian leaders also condemned the violence and the killing of Rogo. They asked their faithful to observe restraint as the government handles the riots.
Reverend Canon Peter Karanja, general secretary of the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK), told Sabahi that there has been looting and extensive damages at Jesus Celebration Centre in Buxton, the NCCK office, the Pentecostal Assemblies of God Church in Ziwani, the Mombasa Pentecostal Church, Seventh Day Adventist Church in Ziwani and the Salvation Army Church in Majengo.
"The NCCK strongly condemns the atrocious and unwarranted attacks on five churches and our own office in Mombasa today, during which innocent worshipers were injured," Karanja said in a statement.
"We have completely failed to understand the logic that made the demonstrators associate the heinous murder of Rogo with the churches and other properties belonging to innocent Kenyans," he said. "We will not allow ourselves to sink into sectarian violence."

Nairobi calm as Muslims deny protest plans

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Bahrain Activist Protests Barring From Egypt

CAIRO August 29, 2012 (AP)

A Bahraini rights activist wrote to Egypt's president Tuesday, complaining that she and other pro-democracy campaigners from her country were denied entry, charging that the policy is a holdover from the deposed Egyptian regime.

Maryam Al-Khawaja, acting president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, was refused entry into Egypt Sunday. Security officials cited unexplained "top security reasons."

In her letter to President Mohammed Morsi, she said she and another prominent activist now in prison in Bahrain had difficulties entering Egypt earlier this year.

She said intelligence services working for deposed President Hosni Mubarak used to harass Bahrain's activists on behalf of that Gulf regime.

Al-Khawaja said she was disappointed such harassment continued in post-Mubarak Egypt.

She wrote to Morsi, "How can such blatant disregard for the law and basic human dignities continue under your watch?"

Activists say while Mubarak has been removed, his security agencies and their policies remain unchanged. Morsi has also sought to calm nervous Gulf neighbors by saying his country won't seek to "export" its revolution.

Al-Khawaja said security officials tried to intimidate her after she and her lawyer demanded an explanation for the barring. The officials told her she would be deported to Bahrain, where there is an arrest warrant against her, she said.

She eventually traveled to her next destination, South Africa, without entering Egypt.

She was denied entry into Egypt initially in April, but was later allowed in after lawyers intervened. She said in her letter that security officials told her she was allowed in then because they were protests in Egypt at the time, and authorities apparently feared a backlash if she were turned away.

Soon after, Al-Khawaja's colleague Nabeel Rajab was denied entry into Egypt and deported back to Bahrain. He was arrested in Bahrain a month later and is in prison serving a three-year sentence for his role in allegedly encouraging protesters in Bahrain to clash with security forces.

Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy's 5th fleet, has faced more than 18 months of unrest between the Sunni-led monarchy and majority Shiites, who say they face systematic discrimination. More than 50 people have died and thousands have been injured in the violence.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Anger over Australian supermarket 'no Indians' job ad

Asia
28 August 2012 Last updated at 21:03 GMT Share this pageFacebook Twitter Email Print Share this page

An Australian supermarket's cleaning firm has sparked outrage by posting an advert for staff that stipulated: "No Indians or Asians please."

The advert, posted on the Gumtree website, appealed for cleaners at a Coles supermarket in Hobart.
The authorities say they are investigating for race discrimination.
Coles, Australia's second-biggest chain, said the advert was posted by a sub-contractor who was no longer connected to the company.
The firm said the advert had been placed without its knowledge,
"We were extremely concerned to learn of the ad and its contents," Coles spokesman Jim Cooper told the Hobart Mercury.
"Coles is a proud, equal-opportunity employer and at no time have we ever issued the directives contained in this ad. We have made these points in no uncertain terms to the cleaning contractors in question."
Tasmania's Anti-Discrimination Commissioner Robin Banks said she had launched an inquiry into the advert.
She said both the contractor and the Gumtree website could have broken the law.

Demo held in West Bank to back prisoners in Israeli jails

PREES TV

Wed Aug 29, 2012 6:46AM GMT

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Palestinians have held a demonstration in the city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank to express solidarity with thousands of prisoners held in Israeli jails, Press TV reports.

The demonstration on Tuesday was organized by a new Palestinian movement named “Palestinians for Dignity.”

Protesters also called on the Palestinian Authority to end all forms of negotiations with the Tel Aviv regime.

The detention of Palestinians inside Israeli jails is an issue that continues to inflame the Palestinian public.

The Israeli regime continues to hold up as many as 4,500 Palestinians in its prisons.

Many of the Palestinian prisoners are on administrative detention, which is an infamous tool employed by the Israeli regime, allowing the arrest of an individual without formal charges.

Former Palestinian prisoner and hunger striker Khader Adnan was also among the protesters on Tuesday. Adnan became the symbol of Palestinian resistance when he launched an open-ended hunger strike against administrative detention.

“It’s time the officials act in harmony with public in this issue… I am frustrated with (Israeli) occupation… I say enough to decades of fatal talks,” Adnan told Press TV.

The issue of Palestinian prisoners has united the Palestinian public everywhere, and the Tuesday event was attended by a range of participants from the Palestinian political spectrum.

DB/HSN/HJL

Somalia lawmakers select new speaker

Press TV

Wed Aug 29, 2012 7:49AM GMT

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Somali parliament has elected former Somalia Prime Minister as new speaker. ‎Mohamed Osman Jawari, was elected as speaker becoming the first formal leader to ‎be elected in a post transitional administration

Somalia's new parliament has elected Mohamed Osman Jawari as the new speaker.

Jawari has held a significant lead after the first round of voting, and was named speaker subsequently after his opponent in a planned run-off that Ali Khalif Galeyr dropped out of the race. Somali leaders have hailed this historic election.

Jawari is a senior figure in Somalia politics and once served under the late former President Mohamed Siad Barre regime as a minister. However, Somali lawmakers say that that Somalia has an unprecedented opportunity now, more than ever to end the two decades of chaos.

Jawari is the first formally elected Somali leader under the new Somali administration set to be formed in a matter of days. Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali told Press TV that the success in speaker’s elections in Mogadishu signals that Somalia is moving towards democracy, peace, and stability.

However, Jawari election means that it will complicate the bid of the former speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan from presidency as both hails from the same Rahanweyn clan predominant in Baidoa region of South Somalia.

The last two months have seen major changes in Somalia, including the ratification of a new constitution, inauguration of a new parliament, and the election of the speaker that will now pave way for the election of the 8th president of Somalia, officially ending the eight year old transitional period.

Previous elections were being held in neighboring countries like Kenya and Djibouti but this is the first formal election-taking place in Somali soil for the first time in two decades and it’s considered to be a milestone for a country torn apart by two decades of conflict.

Somalia struggling for first formal administration in two decades

PRESSTV

Mon Aug 27, 2012 10:31PM GMT

0 3 Abdulaziz Billow Ali, Press TV, MogadishuShare
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Somali MP selection process has been marred by uncertainty a few hours to the election of the house speaker. The outgoing President has refered the dispute to the country's Supreme court, an action strongly criticized by other partners involved in the Somalia peace process.

Controversy has engulfed the MPs selection process in Somalia barely a week after the official mandate of the eight year old Transitional administration expired.

On the 20thAugust, more than 200 members of the new parliament were sworn in, in a historic ceremony in the war torn capital Mogadishu.

However three of Somalia’s UN funded Roadmap signatories have rejected outgoing Somali president’s recent assertion to move the MPs selection dispute to the Supreme Court to seek redress after the technical selection committee (TSC) rejected the appointment of some MPs into the new parliament.

According to the other signatories, the move would disrupt the previous agreements in which signatories including the outgoing president himself Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed agreed to the selection of MPs by the Technical Selection Committee.

“The Technical Selection Committee is an independent body to vet the Members of Parliament before joining the newly reformed 275 member parliament.

The United Nations Special envoy for Somalia Augustine Mahiga has also voiced deep concern at the ongoing delays in finalizing the list of new parliamentarians, warning that it might threaten the electoral calendar.

Outgoing Somali leader was also accused of taking unilateral decision without consulting other signatories of the Roadmap, adding that they will not accept such a move.

Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jamaa group , Galmudug and Puntland States of Somalia all maintained that no group can reach a decision without consulting the other partners and called for parties involved to immediately stop interfering with the TSC.

The outgoing Somali leader in a press conference however said that the candidates were not tried previously by any judicial mechanism and could not be guilty of the given crimes. The Technical Selection Committee (TSC) in charge of vetting parliamentary candidates recently rejected over 70 individuals connected with war crimes.

Somali lawmakers are set to converge on Tuesday in Mogadishu and elect a new Somali parliament speaker that will culminate with the elections of the Somali presidency at a later date marking the end of a Transitional rule that will see Somalia have its first formal administration in two decades.

Kenyan fundraiser for Somalia's Shebab killed

Aug 27, 2012 15:09 Moscow Time

Photo: AFP

Kenyan Islamist cleric Aboud Rogo Mohammed, on US and UN sanction lists for allegedly supporting Somalia's Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab, was shot dead Monday in the port city of Mombasa, a police source said.

"He has been shot dead, he was in a vehicle with his family including wife and children when they were attacked," the source told AFP, adding Mohammed was killed in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa.

"We have been told of a shooting incident.... We will give you details once we get a report from there," said regional deputy police chief Joseph Kitur.

Mohammed was placed on a US sanctions list in July for "engaging in acts that directly or indirectly threaten the peace, security or stability of Somalia", specifically for recruiting and fundraising for the hardline Shebab.

The United Nations Security Council placed a travel ban and asset freeze on the cleric in July, saying he had provided "financial, material, logistical or technical support to Al-Shebab".

He was the "main ideological leader" of Kenya's Al Hijra group, also known as the Muslim Youth Center (MYC), the UN said in July. The group is viewed as a close ally of the Shebab in Kenya.

Mohammed "used the extremist group as a pathway for radicalisation and recruitment of principally Swahili-speaking Africans for carrying out violent militant activity in Somalia," the UN said.

The MYC said in messages posted on Twitter that they were trying to confirm his death.

"We will take our time in responding and we won't over-react" the group said in one message, before adding, "if true, kuffar (unbelievers) will pay."

AFP

Economic PulseInflation still key threat, says Subbarao

REUTERS

NAIROBI Aug 27 (Reuters) - Canadian oil and gas exploration company Horn Petroleum said on Monday it had encountered only water in a well it drilled in Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland region earlier this year, the first to be sunk in the country since civil war erupted two decades ago.

The well, Shabeel North-1, reached a total depth of 3,945 metres and is now being plugged, Horn said.

Because there were no shows of oil and gas, Horn Petroleum determined a second well it drilled earlier in the year, Shabeel-1, also was dry and said the company would not test it further for hydrocarbon potential.

"While we were disappointed that we were not able to flow oil from the first two exploration wells in our Puntland (Somalia) drilling campaign, we remain highly encouraged that all of the critical elements exist for oil accumulations, namely a working petroleum system," Horn's chairman Keith Hill said in a statement.

While there has been speculation about finding oil in the anarchic Horn of Africa country for decades, it has no proven hydrocarbon reserves.

The prospect of oil beneath Dharoor's sandy, arid plains has elicited excitement among officials of the impoverished region. The companies estimated there could be as much as 300 million barrels of recoverable oil in the northern part of Somalia.

Somalia, mired in conflict since warlords in the early 1990s and then Islamist militants reduced the government to impotence, represents one of the final frontiers in Africa to be explored.